London mayor Sadiq Khan confirms date of April 2019 to bring in daily charge on the capital’s most polluting vehicles April 4, 2017 London mayor Sadiq Khan has confirmed he will bring forward the introduction of an ultra-low emission zone and plans to expand it from central London to the North Circular and South Circular roads. The most polluting vehicles will have to pay a daily charge (£12.50 for cars, vans and motorbikes; £100 for buses, coaches and [...]
Rents could rise 20 per cent in the next five years – as UK house prices rise 18 per cent March 9, 2017 Rents in the UK could rise by a fifth in the next five years as housing costs rise for the UK's lowest earners, one of the UK's most well-respected housing bodies has said. Research by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) showed rents for those on lower incomes could rise more than 20 per [...]
Budget 2017: £5m in returnship funding pledged to help people coming back from career breaks March 8, 2017 The focus on helping women back into work following a career break has been given a boost with the announcement £5m will go towards extending return to work schemes to all levels of management. The funding will also go into industries where women are underrepresented, chancellor Philip Hammond said today in his Budget. The chancellor said [...]
Small businesses owed over £40bn in late payments, as Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn slams larger firms for not playing fair April 11, 2017 More than half (52 per cent) of Britain’s smallest businesses are owed £44.6bn in late payments between them, research out today warns, just as Jeremy Corbyn has vowed to declare “war” on larger firms who make late payments to their suppliers. The survey by Zurich of more than 1,000 small-and-medium sized business owners discovered more [...]
Government should do more to boost flagging company investment business group says March 17, 2017 An influential business group has called for government to do more to tackle falling capital spending as fears are rising about a slowdown in long-term business investment. The Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAEW) forecasts businesses will invest 1.9 per cent less in 2017 as companies start a “period of restraint” during the Brexit process. Stephen [...]
GDPR: New data laws will drive a more democratic form of advertising June 16, 2017 Most businesses seem to be dreading the advent of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), but they ought to be grateful that it’s coming. After all, it might help them to survive in the new data economy. Data has been dubbed the “new oil” by The Economist, and you can see why. With a [...]
Government isn’t doing enough to mitigate the environmental hit from Heathrow expansion, warn MPs February 23, 2017 The government looks set to flout recommendations made by its own climate change advisers regarding the environmental impact of Heathrow expansion, MPs warned today. The Environmental Audit Committee has found the government is not doing enough to show it can mitigate the environmental hit the new runway is expected to have, and looks set to [...]
Pension deficits spike £46bn in February with experts warning of more volatility during Brexit negotiations March 14, 2017 The ability of Britain's firm's to manage spiralling pension liabilities is being hampered by the UK's exit from the EU, experts have warned. Pensions lifeboat, the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) today revealed the aggregate deficit of UK companies had grown at a rate of more than £1.6bn per day during February. Although deficits have retreated from all-time [...]
Hammond vows to fight back against bad Brexit deal as he plots vision for Britain’s high-tech future March 6, 2017 Ahead of his first full Budget, chancellor Philip Hammond has vowed the government would fight back against a Brexit deal that doesn't deliver for Britain, insisting the country will not be left licking its wounds after negotiations. Hammond warned the European Union of the UK's "fighting spirit" and said the country will not "slink off as [...]
Third runway set for take off: Government unveils Heathrow expansion national policy statement today February 2, 2017 Transport secretary Chris Grayling will today set out the government’s proposals for Heathrow expansion with a draft national policy statement. It comes after the High Court delayed a legal challenge to the third runway earlier this week. This marks the start of a 16-week national public consultation for the huge infrastructure project, giving people across the UK [...]